Aldnoah.Zero OP Single – heavenly blue – Review

Review: Call me a hipster, but I still believe that the best days of Kalafina were their days working on the original Kara no Kyoukai movies. Sure, there have been a few good works since (“Magia” comes to mind), but nothing had the timelessness those earlier works carried. ‘Heavenly Blue’, like so many recent works, breaks no new ground. In fact, it fares even worse than usual because it is a blatant recycling of Yuki Kajiura’s other works.

Reviewing it without reference to any other work, I would of course recommend it without reservations. You cannot go wrong with Kalafina, and that statement alone is a strong testament towards their works, one of the highest praises that can be given to any artist. Even at worst, their works are enjoyable. ‘Heavenly Blue’ begins with a punctuated stanza from Hikaru and Keiko, before transitioning (somewhat abruptly) to a bridge by Wakana. The chorus, as expected, is catchy and easy on the ears. Had this been a debut single for Kalafina and Kajiura, it would be a ‘Decent’ at least.

But the problem is that when you have such potential in a band, you do not want to toss it out the window. Going along the same analogy zzeroparticle used recently, this is a case of going to a Michelin Star restaurant and asking for your premium steak well-done. People who know and love Kalafina for their musical potential will feel let down by ‘Heavenly Blue’. Prove me wrong, but the opening chorus is incredibly similar to that of ‘Obbligato’. The piece then moves on to a sequence near identical to ‘Consolation’. The following bridge resembles stanzas within ‘misterioso’, while the chorus is almost indistinguishable from that of ‘eternal blue’ by FictionJunction. It is almost as if Kajiura was told to produce something, and churned up the kind of stuff she could write instinctively at this point. The lack of new material here is appalling, and an absolute embarrassment.

What brings this down further than other generic works like ‘to the beginning’ is how it needed none of the passion and vocal skills ‘to the beginning’ demanded. The entire composition, arrangement and delivery sound like everyone was operating on auto-pilot.

‘Heavenly Blue’ is almost a textbook case of everything that can go wrong with Kalafina’s works. On the one hand, it does mean that even at worst, Kalafina remains listenable. However, given this single is yet another in a long string of disappointments that started in 2012, I really do not feel compelled to be generous in my evaluation.

Rating: Not Good

Aldnoah.Zero OP 1 – heavenly blue